Hey mamas, I am a bit concerned about my little one. She turned two in August and occasionally wakes up at night complaining that her legs hurt. Her sister (almost 4) does this also but I was told that hers are probably growing pains. My older DD doesn't have them often at all, but my younger does, maybe once every two weeks? I had mentioned it at our most recent appointment and was told that she is too young for growing pains. She ONLY complains of pain at night, never during the day, and she is superactive- my little tomboy actually. I have tried getting her to tell me specifically where she hurts but it doesn't stay consistent. Tonight it was her knee. Any ideas would be appreciated... I will probably be bringing her in tomorrow. Thanks

I get contridicting info from doctors on that topic. Because for a while there my son would just drop and grab his calfs and say oowww my leg hurts. One doctor told me he was too young for growing pains and reffered us to an orthopedic doc well that doc tells me it is just growing pains. I was also told my son has flat feet, which I am now learning from friends can cause leg pain if you don't have good support. Needless to say we are going next month for another opinion from Shriners Hospital.

Anyways here is what I found on Dr Sears website

GROWING PAINS
My child seems to have growing pains, but how can I tell growing pains from something more serious?
Growth doesn't hurt, at least not physically. These pains invariably come on at night and awaken the child who complains, "My legs hurt." You can soothe these sore legs by massaging, and your child will grow out of them. I believe many of these pains are muscle strains left over from daylong jumping and twisting. Also, I have observed children whose pains subsided after an arch and heel lift was put into their shoes, taking some of the strain off leg muscles during standing and walking, especially in a child with pronated flat feet. See Flat Feet.

The characteristics of growing pains are:

Occurs in both legs
The child does not limp
Occurs in the evening
Plays normally during the day
Does not awaken child at night
Your child is perfectly well otherwise, and you don't notice any abnormal changes in his walking, running, or appearance of legs
Vague in the description of where pains are, and cannot localize site of pain with one finger
Signs that demand medical attention, and should not be attributed to growing pains are:

Limp
Awakens child in the middle of the night, especially if only in one leg
Change in walking or running styles
Complains of back pain and hurts when bending over
Points to a localized area of pain with one finger
Fever
Paleness
Weight loss

FLAT FEET
These pancake-bottom feet probably won't last long; usually by three years the arch appears. Persistent flatfeet beyond age three may or may not need support. Here's how to tell if flat feet are a problem. From behind, observe your child standing barefoot on a hard surface. Draw a line or place a ruler along the Achilles tendon to the floor. If the line is straight, flat feet seldom bother a child, and they require no treatment. If the line bends inward (called pronation), your child may be helped by orthotics – plastic inserts that are placed in regular shoes. These devices support the arch and heel and align the anklebones and leg bones. Although controversy exists, some podiatrists feel that treating a child with severe pronation with orthotics from approximately three years through seven years may minimize leg pains and the risk of later bone and joint deformities.

My son gets growing pains. They wake him from a dead sleep. Now that he can communicate what is happening to him I know that he's had these pains since he was 2 years old. I used to think he had night terrors but now I know it's the leg pain. The last time he woke up with them he was drenched in sweat and could barely walk.

I talked with my doctor. He didn't really offer much advice on how to prevent them or treat them other than tylenol or advil. He did give me requesitions for x-ray and blood tests if they happen again. He wants to make sure he is growin appropriately. There also is a rare form of leukemia that starts as pains in the leg (mostly upper leg but can be whole leg) so he wants to test for that.

I would suggest persuing it further just to make sure everything is 100% ok. I had them really badly as a child and they are so painful and not fun. I hope there was something informative in my post.

Thank you SO MUCH for that information and help, mamas. She meets most of the requirements for having growing pains but they DO wake her up at night and when they happen she doesn't like to walk. So I guess I will be calling her ped today. Thanks again